Unfortunately my opponent Jim O’Hara and his supporters have been spreading misinformation/disinformation about both me personally and my policy priorities to try to win votes. I have provided additional information below straight from the source to counteract the outright lies coming from his coordinated smear campaign.
Myth vs. Facts
MYTH
Destiny supports defunding the police.
FACT
Destiny does not now nor has ever supported reducing funding for law enforcement. In fact, she has lived in communities where the lack of law enforcement has left her feeling unsafe, so she is very passionate about public safety.
She is receptive to residents’ concerns of not enough police presence in Encinitas, and is open to the idea of expanding the City’s contract with the Sheriff’s office, budget and SDSO staffing permitting.
MYTH
Destiny uses and has invested in AI for her campaign and used it to fill out a short questionnaire on transportation for Bike Walk Encinitas.
FACT
This a complete and total fabrication; an outright lie that can be easily verified by reviewing her publicly available 460 Form.
It appears her fundraising software platform, Numero, which is a customer relationship management tool with a mobile app, payment processor, referral tracker, etc., was assumed to be ChatGPT or similar plug-in that writes text.
All her honest, well-thought out answers and policy suggestions based on years of transportation policy expertise are available for review here:
https://bikewalkencinitas.org/destiny-preston-response-to-encinitas-bikewalk-questionnaire/
MYTH
Destiny moved here to run for office and has no local ties to our community.
FACT
Destiny grew up right here in our region and her entire immediate family is within a 100-mile radius of Encinitas. She is a fourth-generation Southern Californian and second-generation North San Diego County resident.
She was born in Los Angeles and simultaneously raised in LA and North San Diego County due to her extensive family in this surrounding area for the past 30 years.
Her aunt, uncle, and cousin moved to the La Costa area in 1994. Her first cousin attended Flora Vista Elementary School in Encinitas. Her dad has lived in the county for 20 years and he previously owned and operated a small boutique gym on Rancho Santa Fe Road.
Destiny went on to attend UC Berkeley where she earned two bachelor’s degrees and a music minor, before attending UCLA to earn an advanced degree in city planning.
The starting salary out of grad school is not a living wage in Encinitas, so she moved to an affordable place on the Northern California coast where she lived for five years while she worked for the Coastal Commission and Caltrans.
After getting a few years of post-graduate school work experience under her belt and saving up, she was finally able to afford to return home to be closer to family and friends. She enrolled in a SD-based hybrid doctoral program in 2021 and relocated full-time to Encinitas in July 2022.
Destiny secured a commercial space in Olivenhain upon fully relocating here, so she has been a local small business owner serving our local residents since August 2022.
destiny4encinitas.com/bio provides more detailed information.
MYTH
Destiny moved to District 2 to run for Councilmember Kellie Hinze’s seat.
FACT
Destiny moved to south Leucadia because she fell in love with our coastline as a small child and was fortunate enough to secure a place within walking distance of the ocean. Her love for our environment compelled her to apply to the Encinitas Environmental Commission. The Encinitas City Council unanimously praised her for her record, stating her background was critical for addressing the issues Encinitas faces, and encouraged her to stay engaged. This ultimately led her to decide to run for City Council.
MYTH
Destiny was recruited, “hand picked,” and “planted” by Catherine Blakespear to run for office.
FACT
Blakespear did not recruit Destiny nor have any role in Destiny’s decision to run for office.
MYTH
Destiny has lived in Santa Monica, San Rafael, and Eureka. Destiny is from Northern California.
FACT
False. Destiny has not lived in those cities. Destiny is not from Northern California.
Her mother currently lives in Palm Desert while she cares for her grandmother. Other than living there for 1.5 years as a minor, she has never established full-time residency in Palm Desert.
These fabrications represent an attempt to discredit Destiny’s lived experience. It demonstrates how out of touch her opponent and supporters are with the many renters, young professionals, and millennials that live in District 2.
Like them, Destiny went away to attend university (at UC Berkeley - hence Berkeley/Oakland residency) and pursued various internships as a UCLA graduate student. After finishing her studies, she moved where she could get a job in a challenging job market (Arcata).
Once she built seniority with her government job, she was earning more and had more mobility to settle permanently in Encinitas. While living in Arcata, she was homesick for many years and eager to return to the San Diego region to be near her family. Covid delayed her return, but she transitioned by visiting often in 2021, before she established full time residency in Encinitas in 2022.
MYTH
Destiny lives or lived in an Airbnb.
FACT
Destiny first rented a room in a friend’s house near Santa Fe Drive and Crest Drive upon moving to Encinitas. She voted as a District 3 resident in the 2022 general election.
She was then was lucky enough to find a place to rent in Southwest Leucadia, a community she has loved since she was a kid. She voted in 2024 primary election as a District 2 resident.
Destiny has been a full-time resident on a residential lease for over two years since moving here in 2022.
MYTH
Destiny joined Leucadia 101 Main Street Association when she didn’t live in Leucadia.
FACT
Destiny was living full-time in Leucadia and joined the nonprofit board of directors of the Leucadia 101 Main Street Association (L101) as a residential member.
The board voted her in as one of three candidates (two out of three were appointed) given her residency in Leucadia and status as an Encinitas business owner.
L101’s businesses later affirmed the board’s vote in a full vote of the membership. The board went on to select her as the Chair of the Economic Development Committee.
MYTH
Destiny has a partisan agenda.
FACT
Fixing roads, addressing infrastructure needs, and promoting public safety are not partisan issues but are policy goals that benefit our community.
Destiny is committed to serving all residents of Encinitas.
MYTH
Destiny is using Encinitas a stepping-stone to run for higher office. She just wants to get to Sacramento.
FACT
Destiny has no intention of running for higher office. She is 100% focused on serving the people of Encinitas as your Encinitas City Councilmember.
If Destiny wanted to live in Sacramento, she could’ve moved there many years ago and benefitted from a much lower cost of living and robust civil service job market with higher wages.
Instead, Destiny chose to stay in her remote job, sacrificing opportunities for better paying government jobs, so that she could be near her family in the San Diego region and across Southern California.
MYTH
Destiny has ties to Sacramento.
FACT
Destiny is committed to putting Encinitas first. She will leverage her public policy and planning experience to serve our residents.
MYTH
Destiny is white and doesn’t speak Spanish.
FACT
Destiny is bi-racial.
Her mother is the daughter of immigrants from Cuba and Puerto Rico.
Her father is mixed Mexican, White, and African-American.
Spanish was her first language - she didn’t learn English until she was about 5 years old. She regularly speaks with her grandparents in Spanish, although she is third-generation American and her Spanish language skills are not perfect.
Destiny can read and write in Spanish at an upper intermediate/advanced level - she took Advanced Spanish as a UCLA graduate student.
MYTH
Destiny is funded by “outside interests.”
FACT
Destiny has more Encinitas donors and Encinitas dollars funding her campaign than her opponent does as of the first reporting deadline (June 30th) and second reporting deadline (September 21st). Currently at a ratio of almost 2:1.
Her number of Encinitas donors has continued to grow since the last reporting deadline. Today over ¾ of her donors are from the San Diego region.
Destiny’s work on public policy has created trust and support from throughout the state. Her family, friends, college alumni circle, and professional network all know she is a dedicated public servant and will work hard for the people of Encinitas.
Destiny’s donors know her track record of getting things done, and they know Encinitas deserves a council member who can actually deliver on advancing goals to improve our quality of life.
Read this Coast News article for more information.
MYTH
Destiny received contributions from the League of Women Voters.
FACT
Destiny has received zero campaign contributions from the League of Women Voters.
The LWV is strictly nonpartisan and never endorses or opposes any political party or candidate for office.
MYTH
Destiny won’t have time to be a City Councilmember.
FACT
Destiny is passionate about contributing to her community and has always been involved in service while meeting the requirements of her full time job.
Destiny has a flexible full-time employer, and she works remotely and has a flexible schedule that allows her to meet the requirements of a City Councilmember.
Destiny’s terms on her other three board member roles will end between Election Day and early 2025. Destiny controls her small business hours and can scale back as needed to ensure she has adequate time to fulfill her Council duties.
Serving as an Encinitas Councilmember is a part-time role and all other officeholders in our City maintain outside employment concurrently.
MYTH
Destiny isn’t willing to talk to voters.
FACT
Destiny is out in the community every day talking with local stakeholders. She attended the Chamber of Commerce Meet and Greet event on September 23rd and answered questions from residents throughout the city.
She holds regular meet and greets, one-on-one meetings, and can't wait to speak with you!
Get in touch through the website www.destiny4encinitas.com/contact
MYTH
Destiny won’t attend debates or sponsors.
FACT
Destiny accepted four invitations to attend forums proposed by various sponsors under the condition that stated the forums would be moderated by an experienced and non-partisan moderator.
It is important to note that forum #1, sponsored by the Encinitas Citizen Review Panel, is a federal political action committee (PAC), which has donated to her opponent and is financially supporting San Diego County Republican Party endorsed candidates Aimee Sproul and Monica Lee, (and “independent” candidates Bruce Ehlers and Luke Shaffer).
The Coastal Rotary Club forum (invitation #5) is being coordinated and led by another donor for her opponent - Robert Hemphill. Despite that double standard, Destiny has accepted the rotary forum invitation due to the importance of having voters know her positions on the issues that matter to the community.